California Ambulatory Surgical Center Insurance Policy Information

California Ambulatory Surgical Center Insurance. Ambulatory surgery centers provide surgical treatments that are normally performed in a hospital. They do not provide overnight accommodations. They are usually owned by a physician or group of physicians. They may or may not be affiliated with a particular hospital but most have arrangements with a hospital if there are complications from a procedure.

Ambulatory surgery centers are an important part of the community. They have transformed the outpatient experience by providing a more convenient alternative to hospital-based outpatient procedures - and done so with a strong track record of quality care and positive patient outcomes.

People rely on ASCs to complete ophthalmology, pain management, urology, GI, and orthopedic procedures. However, there is a significant amount of risk involved in running Ambulatory Surgical Centers. High-quality California ambulatory surgical center insurance coverage is vital to their success - in the event of an unforeseen event natural disaster, an employee accident, or a malpractice lawsuit.

California ambulatory surgical center insurance protects your facility from lawsuits with rates as low as $127/mo. Get a fast quote and your certificate of insurance now.

What Coverages Do Ambulatory Surgical Centers Need?

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), by the nature of their business, face various liability risks. Although many of these risks can be lessened through implementation of risk-management practices, they can rarely be eliminated. Thus, it is prudent to define an California ambulatory surgical center insurance program that addresses your needs and ensures your peace of mind should the unexpected event(s) occur. The following is a listing of the coverages that are often sought by ASCs:

Medical Malpractice Insurance: As a healthcare professional, the risks you face day in and day out in your line of work can actually become a matter of life and death. No matter the wealth of your experience, unpredictable reactions and complications arise - and often, logic is not the main factor when others decide where to place their blame.

To protect your CA ambulatory surgical center, you will strongly want to consider malpractice Insurance. This is an essential California ambulatory surgical center insurance coverage for professional liabilities when rendering your services, treatment, or counsel. Without medical malpractice insurance, you run the risk of being exposed to many liabilities such as: misdiagnosis, neglect, bodily injury, mental injury, duty of care, error or omission, and many more. When your practice is sued, this insurance can cover lawyer's fees, settlements or judgments, and other court costs.

If the California ambulatory surgical center insurance is claims-made coverage, you must have the same policy in force when the incident occurs and when the claim is filed. An occurrence policy on the other hand, covers you indefinitely for incidents that occur within the policy period, meaning you are covered for the time period during which you had the policy even if it is no longer active. It is essentially the same as a claims made policy with a built-in Tail.

Commercial General Liability: This California ambulatory surgical center insurance provides indemnity and expense protection for incidents, including third parties, arising from negligence causing bodily injuries, property damage, and personal injuries that your business caused. This includes slips and falls and loss of or damage to property.

Workers Compensation: This is a requirement in most states if you have any non-owner or partner employees. The requirement applies irrespective of whether your staff are full or part time. This California ambulatory surgical center insurance covers your legal liability to your staff if they are injured at work or become ill as a result of the work they do for you.

Computers / Cyber Liability Coverage: This pays for lost data and related lost income if your computers are damaged by theft, vandalism, viruses or malware. It may pay for loss of data or software, and physical damage to computers or hardware.

Business Interruption: This California ambulatory surgical center insurance covers the loss of income when day-to-day operations are affected and revenue is lost due to a closure due to a covered loss.

Commercial Umbrella: This California ambulatory surgical center insurance policy is designed to provide protection against catastrophic losses and is generally written over various primary liability policies. It essentially acts as excess liability, providing additional financial protection in the case that your ASC faces a particularly large claim that exceeds a single policy's limits.

Umbrellas can be particularly valuable if you face a variety of risks and have multiple liability policies.

How Much Insurance Do I Need?

he limit of indemnity is the maximum amount the insurer will pay out for a single claim. This limit is set based on your requirements, how much risk you are exposed to, but more commonly these days, the contractual requirements you work under such as requests for a certain limit from local authorities etc.

California Ambulatory Surgical Center's Risks & Exposures

Premises liability exposures are significant due to public access to the center and patients recovering from surgical procedures. Excellent housekeeping is required to reduce the number of trips, slips, and falls. Spills must be cleaned up promptly. Hallways, rooms, and recreational areas must be orderly and well maintained. Stairways, elevators, railings, and floor coverings should be in good condition. Exits should be clearly marked and free of obstacles. Adequate interior and exterior lighting should be available in the event of a power outage. Steps should have handrails, be illuminated, marked, and in good repair.

Parking lots should be maintained free of ice and snow. Surgical areas must be kept sterile at all times and carefully controlled. The patients' area must be designed for patients who are physically impaired following the surgery. Escort procedures must be clear for all personnel. A major concern in the area of patient safety is the type of backup facilities available for power outages and loss of normal utilities.

Emergency generators should be in place, checked and maintained periodically. Security at the facility, as well as in the building, corridors, and any owned parking area needs to be carefully checked and reviewed, as the facility may be held liable should a patient or visitor be attacked on the premises. Should an emergency situation arise, there should be evacuation plans in place to quickly move patients to a safe area.

Personal injury exposures include discrimination, invasion of privacy, and wrongful eviction. Maintaining a patient's privacy is critical. Examination rooms, check-in and checkout stations must be in private areas so one patient cannot view information or overhear conversations regarding another patient's confidential information. Inappropriate touching and sexual misconduct must be considered. Background checks should be conducted before hiring any employee. The facility should be accredited and operate within the guidelines of that accreditation.

Professional liability, medical malpractice, and directors and officers exposures are all very high. The exposure increases if the facility fails to conduct thorough background checks to verify employees' credentials, education, and licensing. Although the atmosphere may be more casual than that found in a hospital, the same professional standards must be maintained.

Supervision is essential along with regular training, monitoring, and well-written and followed procedures. Patients must be informed as to their rights to obtain or refuse medical care as described by state and federal law. Very serious losses may result from failure to secure patient approval before performing procedures.

On-site surgery must be closely monitored, with an experienced trained individual administering and monitoring the use of the anesthetic. Access to patients' records must be restricted to those having a legitimate reason for viewing them. Medical records must be duplicated and stored off site. Both on-site and off-site records must be safeguarded to protect patients' right to privacy. Patient plans should be in place and followed by all staff members.

Only patients who are within the appropriate level of care within the hospital's license should be admitted and allowed to remain in the facility. Needles and other equipment must be sterilized and sanitized to prevent the spread of blood-borne infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, and AIDS. There should be a formal review process in place for reviewing all incidents that may give rise to a claim of medical malpractice.

Access to all pharmaceuticals must be carefully controlled, with procedures in place for the proper dispensation to patients. Finally, inappropriate touching and sexual misconduct must be considered.

Workers compensation exposures come from contact with patients, from infections, and from communicable diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, AIDS, or MRSA. Employees should have access to vaccinations to prevent diseases. Gloves and masks should be worn at all times when working around any bodily fluids. All CDC recommended procedures for handling bodily fluids must be followed. Constant cleansing with disinfectants can result in lung, eye, and skin irritations and reactions. Accidental piercings from needles and cuts from scalpels are common.

X-ray technicians should wear leaded aprons to limit exposure to harmful radiation. Back injuries, sprains, and strains can occur when assisting or lifting patients. Procedures should be in place for safely handling unruly or violent patients to minimize injury to both the patient and the employees.

Slips and falls can occur from tripping over objects or slick floors. Since patient information and billings are done on computers, potential injuries include eyestrain, neck strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and similar cumulative trauma injuries that can be addressed through ergonomically designed workstations.

Property exposures are extensive. Ignition sources include electrical wiring, heating, and air conditioning systems, and diagnostic and treatment equipment. All electrical wiring must be up to code and equipment properly maintained. Licensing and certification ensure that housekeeping is excellent and that controls are in place for patient safety.

Oxygen and other flammable surgical gases must be stored properly, separately and away from heating devices and sources of ignition. Sterile conditions must be maintained as even a minor incident can result in a large property loss. Theft is a major exposure because of the drugs kept on premises. Rigid controls must be maintained including, but not limited to, inventory control and limited access to drug storage areas.

Business income and extra expenses can be high due to the cost of diagnostic equipment, the time it may take to repair or replace a damaged item, and the unavailability of backup facilities.

Equipment breakdown exposures are high as operations are dependent on medical equipment being available. All equipment should be maintained on an ongoing basis.

Crime exposures involve both employee dishonesty and money and securities. The potential for theft, directly or by means of identity theft, is great. Background checks must be completed on all employees. Inventory must be reviewed regularly and the drug areas must have limited access. Regular monitoring with cameras can be helpful in deterring employee theft and monitoring patient treatment.

Ordering, billing, and disbursement transactions should be handled as separate duties. Inventories and audits should be performed regularly. Money and securities are a concern if payments are accepted on premises. Deposits should be made regularly and money should not be kept on premises overnight. Patients' property may be stolen by employees.

Inland marine exposures are from accounts receivable for billings, computers, physicians and surgeons' equipment (which can include all office furnishings), and valuable papers and records for employees', patients,' and vendors' information. Most medical equipment is now computerized and should be covered on a computer form.

Surgical equipment that is mobile in nature and transported to more than one center should be covered on a physicians and surgeons equipment floater. Duplicate records of all accounts receivable and valuable papers and records should be stored off premises. Some surgery centers may have extensive fine arts and statuary that should be covered under a fine arts form.

Commercial auto exposure is generally limited to hired non-owned liability for employees running errands. If vehicles are provided to individuals as part of a compensation package, all drivers should be identified and motor vehicle reports obtained on an ongoing basis. Maintenance must be ongoing and documented.

CA Ambulatory Surgical Center Insurance

It is easy to see how increasingly popular CA ambulatory surgical centers are becoming. They are fast, easy, and cost effective for both the surgeons and patients. With an increasing demand for patients to have the ability to utilize surgery centers, comes an increase of risks such as unexpected accidents, tragic oversights, or natural disasters. It is critical for these surgery centers to be covered with the appropriate insurance coverage. Don't leave your ASC vulnerable to risks. With the right policy in place, you can rest assured that it can survive unexpected catastrophes.

If you are an entrepreneur and you considering having your operations located in California, it's essential that you have a full understanding about the economy of the state, as well as the regulations and limits that are in place for commercial insurance.

If you are considering opening up a business in the Golden State, you first want to make sure that it is a sound location for your operations. That means that you should understand some key information related to the state's economy, as well as the types of insurance coverages that businesses are legally required to carry.

Economic Trends For Businesses In California

In terms of job creation, the state of California exceeds rate of job growth in the United States; however, as the state's metropolitan areas are reaching employment capacity, job growth is starting to slow. In 2017, the rate of growth was 2.1 percent, which is the slowest rate of growth since 2011; but it is still expected to increase by 1.8 percent by the end of 2018, and 1.2 percent by the end of 2019.

In the month of April, the unemployment rate in California dropped to 4.2 percent, which is a record low. This unemployment rate is expected to remain consistent for the rest of the calendar year; however, it's forecasted that the rate will start to increase in 2019.

The strongest labor market in the state is in the Bay Area, where the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in 2017. Southern California follows, with an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent in 2017. In the Central Coast region, the rate was 5.4 percent and in the Central Valley, it was 6.6 percent. While the unemployment rate is considered high in these areas, they have decreased dramatically over the last 12 month period.

The industries that are expected to see the most growth in CA include:

Agriculture

Construction

Healthcare

Hospitality

Information Technology

CA Commercial Insurance Regulations And Limits

The California Department of Insurance regulates insurance in the Golden State. In the state of CA, commercial liability insurance is not required; however, since the state does not cap rewards for liability law suits, business owners are wise to invest in this type of coverage. The amount of coverage recommended varies depending on the size of the business and in the industry.

Workers' compensation insurance is the only type of coverage that business owners are required to have. This applies to any organization that employs a salaried or hourly staff, even if that staff only consists of one employee. Furthermore, if an employee is injured or becomes ill as a result of work, business owners must pay for CA workers' comp benefits.

Additional Resources For Medical Insurance

Discover small business insurance for medical and dental professionals. Medical malpractice insurance is a type of professional liability that protects health care professionals from liability causing in bodily injury, medical expenses and property damage.

Health care providers are the most trusted individuals in our society. Ironically, they are the same ones who can do the greatest harm. They actually have the right to invade our bodies with knives and to poison us with chemicals - all in the name of health care and with the goal of relieving our symptoms and hopefully bringing about a cure.

While the actions of these professionals normally benefit us, insurance coverage must be available for the times when mistakes happen and things go wrong. These professionals and their facilities have extensive property exposures that are becoming more and more intricate and whose values are increasing exponentially.

The 'one size fits all' approach that once could have applied to insurance for health care providers and their facilities no longer applies.

Professional liability offers protection against claims of malpractice for all sums that the medical professional becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of rendering or failing to render professional services.

Professional and medical malpractice exposures are the most expensive and difficult of all exposures for health care providers. The commercial general liability policy excludes these exposures so separate coverage is needed. Most professional liability policies are written on a claims-made basis and, as a result, tail coverage and retroactive dates are important coverage issues to be aware of when evaluating the insured’s coverage needs and comparing coverages.

The coverage provided is often called medical malpractice. For decades, many involved in the health care field and insurance companies that provide insurance coverage to providers have stated that malpractice lawsuits have created an ongoing crisis of restricting insurance availability, due to loss of insurance companies that write the coverage and significant rate increases.

As a result, state legislatures have taken the following actions to address the situation:

Imposed a dollar limitation of liability for malpractice suits.

Modified statutes of limitation to limit the number of years that a suit may be brought against a physician following a negligent act.

Modified when the statute of limitations takes effect. An example is beginning from a negligent act's occurrence rather than from its discovery.

Passed laws to modify tort law procedures and doctrines that relate to malpractice.

Because of differences in law by state it is important to know the states in which the covered health care providers are licensed and regularly practice. Some health care providers may practice in multiple states because of their particular specialty, their reputation or the demand for their services. Some hospitals may have ownership in facilities or provide services to patients that are outside of their main location state.

Also learn about California small business insurance requirements for general liability, business property, commercial auto & workers compensation including CA business insurance costs. Call us (323) 484-2100.

Ambulatory Surgical Center Insurance

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